Blue Circle is planning to build a £180 cement works at Holborough in Kent as part of a programme to improve UK productivity.16-Dec-1997

CB Commercial Real Estate Services of the US is to acquire the international operation of the Richard Ellis estate agency, while the UK side of the business is being merged with Insignia.10-Dec-1997

Bryant Homes, Leech Homes and Swan Hill have formed a consortium to submit a planning application to build 2,500 homes north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, which would create up to 10,000 jobs.02-Dec-1997

Tilbury Douglas has been selected as preferred bidder to build a £55m prison near Salford.01-Dec-1997

Cleveland Trust is acquiring March Estates, the industrial property company, for £6.8m in order to help it expand into new developments and joint ventures.28-Nov-1997

Polypipe has acquired Gabo Systemtechnik, the German maker of plastic plumbing and ducting systems, from Thyssen Polymer for £6m.26-Nov-1997

Redland has agreed terms for a £1.8bn takeover by Lafarge, the French building materials company, having decided that a complete sale would be preferable to selling parts of the business following the decline in the UK stockmarket.26-Nov-1997

Alfred McAlpine is selling its Hall & Tawse contracting business to Mansell for £20m, in order to focus on housebuilding, civil engineering and special projects.24-Nov-1997

TBI is seeking planning permission to build a £100m business complex near Belfast airport, that would have the potential to create 15,000 jobs.19-Nov-1997

Meyer International is acquiring 22 tool-hire and catering equipment hire branches from Torex for £10m.05-Nov-1997

Scottish Power has sold Greenhill Enterprises, the landfill and mineral extraction company acquired with Southern Water in 1996, to Haul Waste Group, the South West Water subsidiary, for £10.6m.05-Nov-1997

Meyer International is acquiring Harcros, the builders' merchant, from Harrisons & Crosfield for over £300m, making it the largest builders' merchant in the UK.13-Oct-1997

Plettac of Germany is acquiring a majority stake in NSG Services, the UK scaffolding company, for undisclosed terms, and will use the acquisition as a springboard to introduce its prefabricated systems into the UK.09-Oct-1997

RMC has acquired BDC Concrete Products, the maker of concrete paving stones, from British Dredging for £2.9m.08-Oct-1997

Kier Group has acquired FM Contract Services, the building maintenance company, for an initial £4.5m.08-Oct-1997

Blue Circle Industries has sold Ockley Brick to Chelwood Brick for £14.4m in order to focus more on its core cement business.23-Sep-1997

CRH of Ireland is acquiring CPM, the US producer of aggregates, concrete and asphalt, for £59m, and says it will continue to look for more bolt-on acquisitions in the US building materials sector.18-Sep-1997

Waste Recycling Group is buying Finstop, the Yorkshire-based landfill and quarrying company that trades as Dorrington, for £14.5m.12-Sep-1997

MEPC is acquiring PSIT, the Surrey-based property company, for £247m, following shareholder pressure to improve performance.06-Sep-1997

Ashtead Group is to acquire Sheriff Holdings, the plant hire company with 51 depots, for £39m, and cost savings of £2m a year are expected to follow.30-Aug-1997

Ennstone has launched an agreed offer to acquire Bruntcliffe Aggregates, the quarrying company, for £26m.23-Aug-1997

Gardner Merchant Sodexho has acquired KS Building Services and Genesis Facilities Management from KS Group for undisclosed terms.19-Aug-1997

Kennedy Construction has sold its cable and pipe-laying business to management for £60m.15-Aug-1997

Linden is acquiring Amplevine, the Hampshire-based housebuilder, for an initial £6m, funded by a placing and open offer that should raise £4.5m.08-Aug-1997

The construction industry is having severe difficulties recruiting skilled workers due to a shortage of bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, according to the Construction Confederation.30-Jul-1997

Shorco Group Holdings, the supplier of steel storage cabins and health and safety equipment to the construction industry, is to undergo a reverse takeover by Peterhouse Group and Lowfields Technology Group for undisclosed terms, and the new group will be called Peterhouse.28-Jul-1997

Arlington Securities, British Aerospace's property company, is planning a 64-acre business park opposite Manchester airport, which is expected to provide 4,000 jobs.23-Jul-1997

Terex of the US is planning a big increase in production at its construction equipment plant in Motherwell and the 600-strong workforce is expected to rise by up to a fifth.21-Jul-1997

SIG has launched a £24.6m recommended bid for Roskel, the supplier of suspended ceilings and partitioning.11-Jul-1997

SIG has acquired Asphaltic Roofing Supplies for £25m, and Distribution International and Branton Industries, both of the US, for £11m.03-Jul-1997

Ennstone is to raise over £8m in a share placing in order to fund the purchase and expansion of Tarmac's masonry products division, as part of a plan to widen its product base and strengthen its balance sheet.30-May-1997

The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham has secured private sector investment to build four new halls at a cost of £65m by September 1998, creating over 2,000 jobs.21-May-1997

Alfred McAlpine has acquired Raine, the housebuilder, in a £42m share deal, creating the seventh largest housebuilder in the UK and giving McAlpine access to three new regions - Yorkshire, Northumbria and Cumbria.09-May-1997

Legal & General has announced a £400m plan for the redevelopment of Bracknell town centre, creating 4,000 jobs.23-Apr-1997

Bardon and Camas are to merge to create the UK's fifth largest aggregates producer, forming a new group called Aggregate Industries.15-Apr-1997